Passenger rights: will parents finally sit beside their children on flights for free?
A long-stalled overhaul of EU air passenger rights would guarantee that a young child is seated next to an accompanying parent at no extra charge — ending the fee-splitting practice that separates families on budget flights.
In 30 seconds
- The reform would require airlines to seat a young child next to an accompanying adult at no extra charge, ending fee-based seat splitting.
- It is part of the long-delayed revision of EU Regulation 261/2004 on air passenger rights, not a stand-alone rule.
- EU transport ministers agreed a Council negotiating position in June 2025 after the file had been blocked since a 2013 Commission proposal.
- The measure still requires agreement between the Council and the European Parliament before it becomes binding law.
The reform revises Regulation (EC) 261/2004, the EU law on air passenger rights (compensation and assistance for cancellations, delays and denied boarding). Key entities: the European Commission (proposed the revision), the Council of the EU (agreed a negotiating position in June 2025), the European Parliament (co-legislator), airline lobby Airlines for Europe, consumer group BEUC and its Belgian member Test Achats, and Belgium's enforcement body the SPF Mobilité et Transports. The family-seating measure would require airlines to seat a young child next to an accompanying adult free of charge.
Background
Regulation 261/2004 established EU air passenger rights two decades ago, but attempts to modernise it stalled for years: the Commission proposed a revision in 2013 that member states could not agree on. The deadlock broke only in June 2025, when the Council finally adopted a common position, reopening negotiation on compensation thresholds, refunds and — newly — family seating.
What to do
Until the rule is in force, book directly and early, check fare conditions, and contact the airline in advance about seating young children with a parent. Keep booking confirmations and any seat-fee receipts; complaints in Belgium go to the SPF Mobilité et Transports (mobilit.belgium.be), with support from Test Achats and ECC Belgium for cross-border cases.
Impact
Regional — Belgium's two main passenger airports, Brussels (Zaventem) and Charleroi, handle heavy family holiday traffic on carriers — Brussels Airlines, Ryanair, easyJet, TUI fly — that all use paid seat selection today, so Belgian families are among the direct beneficiaries once the rule applies to EU departures.
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- Published:
- 7 Jul 2026, 02:00
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 8 Aug 2026
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.